Field-effect transistor

ABSTRACT

A field-effect transistor having a transconductance (gm) that remains within 65% of a maximum gm value over at least 85% of a gate voltage range that transitions the field-effect transistor between an on-state that allows substantial current flow through the channel layer and an off-state that prevents substantial current flow through the channel layer is disclosed. The field-effect transistor includes a substrate and a channel layer having a proximal boundary relative to the substrate and a distal boundary relative to the substrate. The channel layer is disposed over the substrate and comprises a compound semiconductor material that includes at least one element having a concentration that is graded between the proximal boundary and the distal boundary.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/538,852, filed Jul. 31, 2017, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to field-effect transistors and methods of their manufacture.

BACKGROUND

At present, field-effect transistors based upon gallium nitride semiconductor technology are desired by both commercial and military communication markets. The commercial communication market has particularly crowded communication bands. As such, there is a demand for highly linear field-effect transistors, especially in the millimeter wave communication bands allocated for fifth-generation (5G) cellular communications. Therefore, an unsatisfied need continually remains for highly linear field-effect transistors, and this need is particular acute for field-effect transistors based upon gallium nitride semiconductor technology.

SUMMARY

A field-effect transistor having a transconductance (gm) that remains within 65% of a maximum gm value over at least 85% of a gate voltage range that transitions the field-effect transistor between an on-state that allows substantial current flow through the channel layer and an off-state that prevents substantial current flow through the channel layer is disclosed. The field-effect transistor includes a substrate and a channel layer having a proximal boundary relative to the substrate and a distal boundary relative to the substrate. The channel layer is disposed over the substrate and comprises a compound semiconductor material that includes at least one element having a concentration that is graded between the proximal boundary and the distal boundary. Further included are a gate, a source, and a drain disposed over the channel layer, wherein the gate is electrically isolated from the channel layer such that a gate voltage applied to the gate controls current flow between the source and the drain.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a field-effect transistor of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a graph of energy and charge density versus distance through a portion of an epitaxial stack comprising the field-effect transistor of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 provides a graph of transconductance and drain current versus gate voltage for the field-effect transistor of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a graph of output power and third-order intermodulation distortion versus input power for the field-effect transistor of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a graph of an X-ray diffraction of the field-effect transistor illustrating the grading of at least one element of a compound semiconductor within the channel layer.

FIG. 6 a cross-sectional structural diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the field-effect transistor of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a process flowchart for manufacturing the field-effect transistor 10 of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an embodiment of the field-effect transistor with conventional alloying contacts and a sub-channel layer sandwiched between the channel layer and the top barrier layer.

FIG. 9 is another embodiment of the field-effect transistor with regrown highly doped GaN contacts with the sub-channel layer sandwiched between the channel layer and the top barrier layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” or extending “onto” another element, it can be directly on or extend directly onto the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or extending “directly onto” another element, there are no intervening elements present. Likewise, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “over” or extending “over” another element, it can be directly over or extend directly over the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly over” or extending “directly over” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that these terms and those discussed above are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including” when used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. For example, for the purpose of this disclosure compound semiconductors are semiconductors that are comprised of two or more chemically combined elements such as gallium and nitrogen to form gallium nitride. In contrast, elemental semiconductors comprise a single element such as silicon.

In this regard, embodiments of this disclosure grade elemental concentrations making up compound semiconductors such as gallium nitride and do not involve grading concentrations of substitutional impurity elements in elemental semiconductors such as silicon and germanium. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a field-effect transistor 10 of the present disclosure. The field-effect transistor 10 has a substrate 12 that in this exemplary embodiment is made of silicon carbide (SiC). Other substrates made of materials such as sapphire are also usable with embodiments of the present disclosure.

The exemplary field-effect transistor 10 further includes a buffer layer 14 that increases off-state breakdown voltage and may improve lattice matching to the substrate 12. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the buffer layer 14 is made of iron-doped (Fe-doped) gallium nitride (GaN). A bottom barrier layer 16 is disposed over the buffer layer 14. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the bottom barrier layer 16 is made of indium gallium nitride (In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N) with a thickness range from 5 nm to 50 nm. Moreover, in this particular exemplary case, the bottom barrier layer 16 is In_(0.08)Ga_(0.92)N with a thickness of 20 nanometers. Other embodiments of bottom barrier layer 16 have In concentrations that range from 3% to 12%.

A channel layer 18 has a proximal boundary 20 relative to the substrate 12 and a distal boundary 22 relative to the substrate 12. The channel layer 18 is disposed over the substrate 12, and in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the channel layer 18 is also disposed over the buffer layer 14 and directly onto the bottom barrier layer 16. Embodiments of the channel layer 18 have thicknesses that range from 5 nm to 20 nm. The channel layer 18 is made up of a compound semiconductor material that includes at least one element having a concentration that is graded between the proximal boundary 20 and the distal boundary 22 such that a transconductance (gm) of the field-effect transistor 10 remains within 65% of a maximum gm value of over at least 85% of a gate voltage range that transitions the field-effect transistor 10 between an on-state that allows substantial current flow through the channel layer 18 and an off-state that prevents substantial current flow through the channel layer 18.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the compound semiconductor material making up channel layer 18 is indium gallium nitride that has a graded concentration of the element indium. In the exemplary embodiment, the concentration of indium has been reduced to practically zero at the distal boundary 22. As such, in this exemplary embodiment, the channel layer 18 can be considered graded from indium gallium nitride (InGaN) having a predetermined concentration of indium at the proximal boundary 20 to GaN with only trace amounts of indium, if any, at the distal boundary 22. In one exemplary embodiment, the semiconductor material making up channel layer 18 begins as In_(0.08)Ga_(0.92)N at the proximal boundary 20 and is graded to GaN at the distal boundary 22. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the semiconductor material making up channel layer 18 begins as In_(0.06)Ga_(0.94)N at the proximal boundary 20 and is graded to GaN at the distal boundary 22. A grading of the indium concentration between the proximal boundary 20 and the distal boundary 22 may be linear or non-linear. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the channel layer 18 has a thickness of 10 nm.

Further still in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, a top barrier layer 24 is disposed over the channel layer 18, and in this particular embodiment, the top barrier layer 24 is disposed directly onto the channel layer 18. The top barrier layer 24 in this exemplary case is made of aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) and in this particular embodiment is made of Al_(0.22)Ga_(0.78)N and has a thickness of 20 nm. In at least one embodiment, the bottom barrier layer 16 and the top barrier layer 24 are configured to confine a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) to within the channel layer 18 and/or increase the electron density of the 2DEG. A dashed line within the representation of the channel layer 18 in FIG. 1 along with a representation of charge distribution illustrates the confinement and enhanced charge density provided by the field-effect transistor 10.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, a cap layer 26 is disposed over the top barrier layer 24. The cap layer 26 is made of GaN and is configured to provide various electrical characteristic improvements such as better reliability and reduced ohmic contact resistance. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the cap layer 26 is 2 nm thick. A passivation layer 28 is disposed over the cap layer 26. A gate 30, a source 32, and a drain 34 are formed over the channel layer, such that the gate 30 is electrically isolated from the channel layer 18, the source 32, and the drain 34. Moreover, the source 32 and the drain 34 are spaced apart from the gate 30 and each other. Note that depictions of structures in FIG. 1 are not intended to be to scale.

FIG. 2 is a graph of energy and charge density versus distance through a portion of an epitaxial stack comprised of the buffer layer 14, the bottom barrier layer 16, the channel layer 18, and the top barrier layer 24 of an exemplary embodiment of the field-effect transistor 10. Energy levels are presented in electron volts (eV), distance is presented in angstroms, and charge density is presented in coulombs per cubic centimeter (C/cm³). A short dashed line labeled Ec depicts conduction band edge energy that within the channel layer 18 aligns with the Fermi energy level represented by a longer dashed line labeled Ef. A dotted-dashed line labeled Ev depicts valance band edge energy.

A solid line labeled charge distribution within the graph shows that charge density greater than 2.5×10²⁰ C/cm³ near the distal boundary 22 of the channel layer 18. As a result of the grading of the semiconductor material, which in this example starts as In_(0.08)Ga_(0.92)N at the proximal boundary 20 and concludes as GaN at the distal boundary 22, the 2DEG spreads out towards the proximal boundary 20. As such, the gm profile is modified to have a flatter top. In other words, the gm is more constant across a larger range of gate voltage than is possible without the grading of element concentration of the compound semiconductor material making up the channel layer 18.

In this regard, FIG. 3 provides a graph of transconductance (gm) in siemens per millimeter (S/mm) and drain current in amperes per millimeter (A/mm) versus gate voltage V_(G) in volts (V). In this particular example, gm varies no more than 0.08 S/mm from 0 V to −3.4 V. Thus, in this example, gm of the field-effect transistor 10 remains within 65% of a maximum gm value of 0.19 S/mm over at least 85% of a gate voltage range that transitions the field-effect transistor 10 between an on-state that allows substantial current flow through the channel layer 18 and an off-state that prevents substantial current flow through the channel layer 18. Moreover, in this particular example, gm varies no more 0.02 S/mm over a 2.6 V range of gate voltage. Thus, in this example, gm of the field-effect transistor 10 remains within 89% of a maximum gm value of 0.19 S/mm over at least 65% of the gate voltage range that transitions the field-effect transistor between the on-state and the off-state. Further still, notice that the drain current I_(D) is linear over this same range that extends from −0.3 V to −2.9 V.

In this regard, FIG. 4 is a graph of output power (P_(OUT)) and third-order intermodulation distortion (IM3) versus input power (P_(IN)) for the field-effect transistor 10 of FIG. 1. In particular, FIG. 4 shows highly linear performance for the field-effect transistor 10 with an IM3 of lower than −20 dBm for an input power P_(IN) of −1.5 dBm and a corresponding output power P_(OUT) greater than 10 dBm. Moreover, the field-effect transistor 10 has an IM3 of lower than −60 dbm for a P_(IN) of −13 dBm with a corresponding P_(OUT) that is greater than 0 dBm. Further still, a linear figure of merit for the field-effect transistor 10 is its output third-order intercept point divided by direct current supply power (OIP3/P_(DC)), which in this exemplary case is 3.2 dB. Moreover, the exemplary field-effect transistor 10 has an input third-order intercept point (IIP3) equal to 15 dBm and an OIP3 equal to 29 dBm.

FIG. 5 is a graph of an X-ray diffraction of the field-effect transistor 10 that illustrates the grading of InGaN to GaN within the channel layer 18. In the exemplary embodiment of the field-effect transistor 10 depicted in FIG. 1, the compound semiconductor material is InGaN, and the at least one element is In. In particular, the X-ray diffraction shows that as the concentration of the element In is graded downwardly, the concentration of Ga increases until at the location of distal boundary 22 (FIG. 1) the semiconductor material is GaN with only trace amounts of In, if any.

FIG. 6 a cross-sectional structural diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the field-effect transistor 10 of the present disclosure. In this particular embodiment, the source 32 and the drain 34 extend into the channel layer 18. Other differences include a different compound semiconductor material for the top barrier layer 24 and a different In/Ga ratio for the bottom barrier layer 16. In this case the top barrier layer 24 is made up of scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN), and specifically Sc_(0.15)Al_(0.85)N. The ScAlN may provide better lattice matching with GaN and a relatively higher sheet charge density within the channel layer 18 compared with the AlGaN used for the top barrier layer 24 in the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a process flowchart for manufacturing the field-effect transistor 10 (FIGS. 1 and 6) of the present disclosure. An initial step is to provide the substrate 12 (step 100). The substrate 12 may be made of SiC or sapphire or other substrate material usable to fabricate GaN technology devices. A next step is to dispose the buffer layer 14 over the substrate 12 (step 102). The buffer layer 14 may be made of Fe-doped GaN and may have sub-layers such as a 5 nm thick AlN nucleation layer. A following step is to dispose the bottom barrier layer 16 over the substrate 12, and in the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, the bottom barrier layer 16 is disposed directly onto the buffer layer 14 (step 104).

A next step is to dispose the channel layer 18 made of compound semiconductor material over the bottom barrier layer 16 while grading a concentration of at least one element of the semiconductor material from the proximal boundary 20 to the distal boundary 22 (step 106). A particular grading of the element concentration may be selected to be either linear or non-linear in order to configure the channel layer 18 such that gm of the field-effect transistor 10 remains within a predetermined percentage of a maximum gm value over a predetermined gate voltage range that transitions the field-effect transistor 10 between an on-state that allows substantial current flow through the channel layer 18 and an off-state that prevents substantial current flow through the channel layer 18. The channel layer 18 may be disposed directly onto the bottom barrier layer 16 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6.

A following step is to dispose the top barrier layer 24 over the channel layer 18 (step 108). In the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, the top barrier layer 24 is in direct contact with a top surface of the channel layer 18. A next step is to dispose the cap layer 26 over the top barrier layer 24 (step 110). The cap layer 26 is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 as being in direct contact with a top surface of the top barrier layer 24.

A following step is to dispose the passivation layer 28 over the cap layer 26 (step 112). The passivation layer 28 may be disposed directly onto the cap layer 26 as depicted in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6. A suitable material for the passivation layer is silicon nitride (SiN). A remaining step is to dispose the source 32, the gate 30, and the drain 34 over the channel layer 18 such that the gate is electrically isolated for the channel layer, so that a gate voltage applied to the gate 30 controls current flow between the source 32 and the drain 34 (step 114).

FIG. 8 is an embodiment of the field-effect transistor 10 with conventional alloying contacts and a sub-channel layer 36 sandwiched between the channel layer 18 and the top barrier layer 24. The sub-channel layer 36 improves electron mobility over the embodiment of FIG. 1. In this exemplary embodiment, the sub-channel layer 36 is made of GaN.

FIG. 9 is another embodiment of the field-effect transistor 10 with the source 32 and the drain 34 included as regrown highly doped GaN contacts with the sub-channel layer 36 sandwiched between the channel layer 18 and the top barrier layer 24. In this exemplary embodiment, the regrown GaN contacts are in direct contact with the 2DEG and have ultra-low ohmic resistance for device scaling. In this case, the sub-channel layer 36 improves electron mobility over the embodiment of FIG. 6. In this exemplary embodiment, the sub-channel layer 36 is made of GaN. Generally, the bottom barrier layer 16, the channel layer 18, and the top barrier layer 24 may be made of group III-V compound semiconductor materials. Examples of group III-V semiconductor materials include, but are not limited to, aluminum gallium nitride, scandium aluminum nitride, indium aluminum gallium nitride, and scandium aluminum gallium nitride.

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A field-effect transistor comprising: a substrate; a channel layer having a proximal boundary relative to the substrate and a distal boundary relative to the substrate, wherein the channel layer is disposed over the substrate and comprises a compound semiconductor material that includes at least one element having a concentration that is graded between the proximal boundary and the distal boundary such that transconductance (gm) of the field-effect transistor remains within 65% of a maximum gm value over at least 85% of a gate voltage range that transitions the field-effect transistor between an on-state that allows substantial current flow through the channel layer and an off-state that prevents substantial current flow through the channel layer; and a gate, a source, and a drain disposed over the channel layer, wherein the gate is electrically isolated from the channel layer such that a gate voltage applied to the gate controls current flow between the source and the drain.
 2. The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein a lower concentration of the at least one element at the distal boundary of the channel layer is no greater than 0.1% of a higher concentration of the at least one element at the proximal boundary of the channel layer.
 3. The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the concentration of the at least one element decreases linearly between the proximal boundary and the distal boundary.
 4. The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the concentration of the at least one element decreases non-linearly between the proximal boundary and the distal boundary.
 5. The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the compound semiconductor material is indium gallium nitride and the at least one element is indium.
 6. The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein a bottom barrier layer is disposed between the between the substrate and the channel layer.
 7. The field-effect transistor of claim 6 further includes a top barrier layer disposed over the channel layer.
 8. The field-effect transistor of claim 7 wherein the bottom barrier layer and the top barrier layer are configured to confine a two-dimensional electron gas to within the channel layer.
 9. The field-effect transistor of claim 7 wherein the bottom barrier layer is indium gallium nitride and the top barrier layer is aluminum gallium nitride.
 10. The field-effect transistor of claim 7 wherein the bottom barrier layer is indium gallium nitride and the top barrier layer is scandium aluminum nitride.
 11. The field-effect transistor of claim 7 wherein the bottom barrier layer, the channel layer, and the top barrier layer are made from group III-V compound semiconductor materials.
 12. The field-effect transistor of claim 7 further including a sub-channel layer between the channel layer and the top barrier layer.
 13. The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the source and the drain extend into the channel layer.
 14. A method of manufacturing a field-effect transistor comprising: providing a substrate; and disposing over the substrate a channel layer having a proximal boundary relative to the substrate and a distal boundary relative to the substrate, wherein the channel layer comprises a compound semiconductor material that includes at least one element having a concentration that is graded between the proximal boundary and the distal boundary such that transconductance (gm) of the field-effect transistor remains within 65% of a maximum gm value over at least 85% of a gate voltage range that transitions the field-effect transistor between an on-state that allows substantial current flow through the channel layer and an off-state that prevents substantial current flow through the channel layer; and forming a gate, a source, and a drain over the channel layer, wherein the gate is electrically isolated from the channel layer such that a gate voltage applied to the gate controls current flow between the source and the drain.
 15. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 14 wherein a lower concentration of the at least one element at the distal boundary of the channel layer is no greater than 0.1% of a higher concentration of the at least one element at the proximal boundary of the channel layer.
 16. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 14 wherein the concentration of the at least one element decreases linearly between the proximal boundary and the distal boundary.
 17. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 14 wherein the concentration of the at least one element decreases non-linearly between the proximal boundary and the distal boundary.
 18. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 14 wherein the compound semiconductor material is indium gallium nitride and the at least one element is indium.
 19. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 14 wherein a bottom barrier layer is disposed between the between the substrate and the channel layer.
 20. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 19 further includes a top barrier layer disposed over the channel layer.
 21. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 20 wherein the bottom barrier layer and the top barrier layer are configured to confine a two-dimensional electron gas within the channel layer.
 22. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 20 wherein the bottom barrier layer is indium gallium nitride and the top barrier layer is aluminum gallium nitride.
 23. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 20 wherein the bottom barrier layer is indium gallium nitride and the top barrier layer is scandium aluminum nitride.
 24. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 20 wherein the bottom barrier layer, the channel layer, and the top barrier layer are made of group III-V materials.
 25. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 20 further including a sub-channel layer between the channel layer and the top barrier layer.
 26. The method of manufacturing the field-effect transistor of claim 14 wherein the source and the drain extend into the channel layer. 